CAIRO - At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday and 200 wounded when gunmen opened fire on supporters of President Mohamed Mursi who were rallying outside Cairo University, state television quoted a Health Ministry spokesman as saying.

Security sources said pro-Mursi demonstrators clashed with security forces. They put the death toll at 18 and said most of the casualties were Islamists.

Witnesses said they heard shotgun and rifle fire. "Police attacked the protesters in their uniforms, using state-issued machine guns and ammunition," said Gehad El-Haddad, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood.

CAIRO - A leading opposition party appealed to the armed forces on Wednesday to act to save Egyptian lives, saying Islamist President Mohamed Mursi had "lost his mind" and incited civil war.

"We ask the army to protect the souls of Egyptians after Mursi lost his mind and incited bloodshed of Egyptians," the Dustour (Constitution) Party led by former U.N. nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei said in a statement.

Issued hours before a deadline set by the armed forces for Mursi to yield to mass protests and share power or give way, the statement said what was happening was not a military coup but an operation to spare human lives.

CAIRO - The Egyptian pound inched weaker at a central bank foreign exchange auction, which was held early ahead of a Wednesday army deadline that could trigger a military takeover.

The central bank sold $38.8 million to banks at the auction, with the cut-off price at 7.0189 pounds to the dollar compared to 7.0094 pounds at the last auction on Thursday, a banker said.

The central bank introduced the auctions at the end of December to help stave off a currency crisis and thwart a run on the pound. Since then, it has allowed the currency to lose almost 11 percent of its value on the official market. The pound has fallen by even more on the black market.

CAIRO - Egypt central bank moved its closing time for accessing overnight lending forward as a Wednesday army deadline that could trigger a military takeover backed by protesters approached, a banker said.

Banks must submit lending requests by 12:45 p.m. (1045 GMT) instead of 4:30 p.m. The central bank earlier told banks to close their branches three hours early and advanced the time for a foreign currency auction.

The military has set a deadline of about 5:00 p.m. for President Mohamed Mursi to agree to a power-sharing deal with his rivals, an ultimatum that Mursi has rejected.

CAIRO - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's hardline Islamist allies in al-Gamaa al-Islamiya want him to call a referendum on early presidential elections to avoid bloodshed and a military coup, Tarek al-Zumar, a senior member of the group said on Wednesday.

The former armed group that is one of Mursi's few remaining allies has been advising the head of state to call for the vote in the two days since the army issued a deadline for politicians to resolve the political conflict by Wednesday.

"We find ourselves faced with the necessity of convincing the president to accept a referendum on early presidential elections," Zumar told Reuters in a telephone interview. "This is what we hope will be reached in the next few hours."

Mursi did not propose the idea of an early presidential election a speech to the nation on Tuesday, calling instead for parliamentary polls.

"This peaceful, constitutional transfer (of power) will spare blood," Zumar said, adding that it would also protect the constitution that was passed into law in December.

He said the army's statements appeared to presage a coup, but this "can be avoided if the president decides to hold a referendum on early presidential elections".

Asked if he feared more violence unless a solution is agreed, Zumar said: "Of course, there are many parties that playing with Egypt's security, and which want to exploit the current moment to set off sectarian struggles and civil wars."

The Gamaa Islamiya, which renounced the armed struggle more than a decade ago and formed a political party after the 2011 uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, has taken part in recent rallies in support Mursi.

The president's appointment of a Gamaa Islamiya member as governor of the historic central city of Luxor, where the group staged its bloodiest attack on foreign tourists in 1997, fuelled anger at Mursi ahead of protests demanding he resign.

Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said it expected President Mohamed Mursi would either step down or be removed from office on Wednesday when a deadline set by the army for resolving the country's political crisis expires.

Egypt's flagship state daily said an army road map for the future would set up a three-member presidential council to be chaired by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.

"Al-Ahram learnt that with the end of the 48-hour period set by the armed forces ... it is expected in the hours that follow it, one of two things: either Mursi announces his resignation himself, or the declaration of his removal through the road map for the future set out by the armed forces," it said.

Al-Ahram said the road map would set up a neutral transitional government to be headed by a military leader. The transitional period would last nine to 12 months in which a new constitution would be drafted to set out a path to presidential elections.

Egypt's army commander and Islamist President Mohamed Mursi each pledged his life to defy the other as the hour approached on Wednesday that will trigger a military takeover that was prompted by mass demonstrations.

The military chiefs issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours". They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Mursi refused to give up his elected office. Mursi said, "The price ... is my life."

As a mass of revelers on Cairo's Tahrir Square feted the army for saving the revolutionary democracy won there two years ago, supporters of the president's Muslim Brotherhood denounced a "military coup". Some clashed with security forces at Cairo University, where 16 people died and about 200 were wounded.

Egypt's high command said on Wednesday the army was ready to die to defend Egypt's people against terrorists and fools, in a response to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that was headlined "The Final Hours".

The post on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), headed by armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said: "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool."

Issued three hours after Mursi appeared on television to reject an ultimatum from Sisi that he share power with his opponents or face a military solution by 10:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), a military source said the statement made clear that the armed forces would not abandon their demands.

The death toll in violence involving Islamist supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi near Cairo University rose to 16 on Wednesday and 200 people were wounded, state television quoted a Health Ministry spokesman as saying.

Organisers of the protest movement that drew millions of Egyptians on to the streets this week to demand the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi called on his military guard on Wednesday to arrest him.

Dismissing the claims to legitimacy that Mursi made in a televised address, the "Tamarud - Rebel!" movement said in a statement: "The only response to Mursi's speech is to protest on the streets in our millions, starting on Wednesday, so that he and his group hear the voice of the great Egyptian people.

"Not only are we calling for his departure but we call for him and his group to be sent for trial. We call on the Republican Guard to arrest Mohamed Mursi and send him for trial immediately."

Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood have rejected an armed forces ultimatum for him to share power with the opposition by Wednesday afternoon or face a solution imposed by the military.

Three people were killed and about 90 wounded in clashes near Cairo University between supporters of President Mohamed Mursi and security forces, an aide to Egypt's health minister told Reuters.

Witnesses heard shotgun and rifle fire and teargas enveloped the area. Television pictures showed ambulances taking away casualties, small fires burning and hundreds of men, many with the beards typical of Mursi's Islamist supporters, some of them weeping and others chanting slogans.

Some held up rifle and shotgun cartridges to the camera. Another man waved his bloodied hand.

CAIRO, July 3 (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between supporters of Egyptian Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and security forces at Cairo University on Wednesday, witnesses said, and security sources said dozens were wounded. Witnesses told Reuters that they heard gunfire and saw teargas being used by the authorities. Thousands of Islamists had gathered in a square in front of the main university building earlier in the evening to protest against a military ultimatum to Mursi to share power with his opponents.

Mursi's says he must continue to defend "legitimacy" of his constitutional rule

Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Alastair Macdonald

CAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi told Egyptians in a televised address on Tuesday that he would defend the legitimacy of his elected office with his life and urged them to reject challenges to the legal order. In a speech, that was continuing after more than 40 minutes, he conceded his first year in office had been difficult and he faced challenges from corrupt remnants of the old regime.

In a response to a military ultimatum to share power with his opponents, he said he had tried such dialogue before and had been unsuccessful. But he insisted he would continue fulfilling the duties to which he had been democratically elected.

From earlier today: Egypt's Pope Tawadros tweeted his blessing on Tuesday for a youth-led revolt against Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and for army moves to end a political crisis that the ruling Muslim Brotherhood have denounced as a coup. Reflecting deep anxiety among Egypt's millions of Christians since last year's election victories Mursi and the Brotherhood, the head of the Coptic Church said on Twitter:

"A salute, in tribute and glorification, to the trio that makes Egypt great: the people ... the army ... and youth. Long live my country, free and strong.

"How impressive are the Egyptian people, as they reclaim the revolution that was stolen from them, in a civilized and highly elegant manner with the idea of "tamarud" (revolt). I pray for all the people of Egypt."

Reader note: the following is a developing summary of translated statements made by Egypt's President Mursi. We will have a confirmed and updated story shortly:

President Mursi, on television in Egypt, says he is the first democratically elected leader of Egypt and that elections have been free and representative of the popular will.

In speech, Mursi says that corruption, remnants of old regime remain challenges for Egypt and it takes time to address them. He also says that he is working under the sole legitimacy of the constitution, and that only that legitimacy guarantees there will be no civil unrest. Mursi says he has no option but to carry out responsibilities given to him democratically.

Mursi, continuing in live speech, urges Egyptians not to attack the army, police, or each other. Mursi says he is trying to get Egypt's army to return to its normal duties.

"There is no substitute for constitution and legal legitimacy," Mursi says. "No one has a right to replace the legitimate order."

CAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will address the nation shortly, state television said on Tuesday in an on-screen alert. No details were available. Mursi earlier sent a tweet defying an ultimatum from the armed forces that he share power with his opponents.

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi take part in a protest demanding that Mursi resign at Tahrir Square in Cairo July 2, 2013. Egypt's army reprised its role as hero in a new act of the country's political drama on Monday with a move celebrated by protesters as a decisive blow against an unpopular president just two and half years after the military unseated his predecessor. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) on Jul 2, 2013 at 9:28 PM

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's opposition alliance said President Mohamed Mursi's refusal on Tuesday to accept a military ultimatum to share power had put the country on course for confrontation and raised the risk of violence.

"This is leading to confrontation, not offering any compromise or listening to people on the streets, and we are very alarmed about escalation of violence," said Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the National Salvation Front.

CAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi called on the armed forces on Tuesday to withdraw an ultimatum for him to share power with his political opponents and said he would not be dictated to.

"President Mohamed Mursi asserts his grasp on constitutional legitimacy and rejects any attempt to deviate from it, and calls on the armed forces to withdraw their warning and refuses to be dictated to internally or externally," a tweet on the official Twitter feed of the Egyptian presidency said.

A military source said the armed forces had seen Mursi's statement and would issue a response to it.

Egypt's army has plans to push Mohamed Mursi aside and suspend the constitution after an all but impossible ultimatum it has given the Islamist president expires in less than 24 hours, military sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Condemning a coup against their first freely elected leader, tens of thousands of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters took to the streets, clashing with opponents in several towns. But they appeared to be dwarfed by anti-government protesters who turned out in their hundreds of thousands across the nation.

Troops were on alert after warnings of a potential civil war. Seven people died in fighting in Cairo suburbs and hundreds were wounded in the provinces.

Supporters of President Mohamed Mursi wave to a military helicopter passing over them during a protest in Alexandria to counter anti-Mursi protests elsewhere in Alexandria, July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

Egypt's women protest, against drumbeat of sexual harassmentHundreds of thousands of women joined the protests on Sunday, according to estimates from local observers. From the Wall Street Journal:

Some women, carried on the shoulders of men, led chants with megaphones. Others led marches to Tahrir Square as they smacked wooden shoes in order to shoo away Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Female artists also joined in the marches, including prominent Egyptian actress Maha Abo Ouf and female pop star Angham.

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Mursi have formed militias and say they're willing to die for him, says Eric Trager of the Washington Institute. He spoke to Reuters from Cairo's Tahrir Square.

WASHINGTON A Russian propaganda arm oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton, said an indictment released on Friday that revealed more details than previously known about Moscow's purported effort to interfere. | Video

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